February 26, 2004 Letter to Members of the European Parliament
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
February 26, 2004
Frau GEBHARDT
Group of the Party of European Socialists
Germany
Dear Evelyne GEBHARDT,
Sr. BARON CRESPO
Group of the Party of European Socialists
Spain
Dear Enrique BARON CRESPO,
Herr SWOBODA
Group of the Party of European Socialists
Austria
Dear Johannes (Hannes) SWOBODA,
Sr. MENDEZ DE VIGO
Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats
Spain
Dear Inigo MENDEZ DE VIGO,
Herr ROTHLEY
Group of the Party of European Socialists
Germany
Dear Willi ROTHLEY,
M. Jean-Claude FRUTEAU
Group of the Party of European Socialists
France
Dear Jean-Claude FRUTEAU,
M. SAVARY
Group of the Party of European Socialists
France
Dear Gilles SAVARY,
Esko SEPPANEN
Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left
Finland
Dear Esko Olavi SEPPANEN,
Mme FRAISSE
Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left
France
Dear Genevieve FRAISSE,
Fru FRAHM
Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left
Denmark
Dear Pernille FRAHM,
Sig.Ra BONINO
Non-attached
Italy
Dear Emma BONINO,
On. CAPPATO
Non-attached
Italy
Dear Marco CAPPATO,
Mevr. BOOGERD-QUAAK
Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party
Netherlands
Dear Johanna BOOGERD-QUAAK,
Mr MILLER
Group of the Party of European Socialists
United Kingdom
Dear Bill MILLER,
Astrid THORS
Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party
Finland
Dear Astrid THORS,
Frau ECHERER
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
Austria
Dear Raina A. Mercedes ECHERER,
Professor Sir MacCORMICK
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
United Kingdom
Dear Neil MacCORMICK,
I am writing to request your support for an amendment to the proposed EU directive on Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement at the EU Parliament plenary vote on March 8, 2004. This amendment would ensure that the directive will target only those who intentionally infringe copyrights for a commercial purpose or whose activities have substantial commercial impact – a crucial change that would preserve proportionality and procedural fairness.
While I believe it is important to protect rights-holders from copyright infringement and counterfeiting, I also believe that enforcement measures should be proportionate to the infringement in question. The EU IPRE, however, fails adequately to distinguish between large-scale, commercial copyright infringers and individuals who unwittingly violate intellectual property laws.
Further, the proposed directive includes a number of enforcement remedies that are not recognized in the national laws of many EU member states. These include “Anton Piller” search-and-seizure orders, interlocutory injunctions and Mareva injunctions to freeze bank accounts and obtain commercial documents. Without amendments to limit their use to large-scale, commercial infringement and counterfeiting with appropriate judicial oversight, I am concerned that these enforcement measures could endanger European consumers’ privacy, stifle technological innovation and place significant cost burdens on ISPs, network operators and small businesses.
Please fight these overzealous enforcement provisions by supporting an amendment to the IPRE directive on March 8, 2004. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
James Landrith